Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
FREQUENT FLYER GLOSSARY
What is cruise loyalty tier expiry?
Cruise loyalty tier expiry is whether the past-guest status a traveller earns by sailing — a cruise line's entry, mid or top membership level — lapses when the person stops cruising, and whether the points or nights behind that level ever expire. Royal Caribbean International's Crown & Anchor Society states that points never expire, and Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club states that earned Club Points do not expire. [4] [5] Holland America Line's Mariner Society and Norwegian Cruise Line's Latitudes Rewards set tier thresholds without publishing an expiry date for points or status. [6] [2]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- Tier expiry is not a single industry rule: Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society says points never expire, and Celebrity's Captain's Club says earned Club Points never expire. [4] [5]
- Holland America Line's Mariner Society and Norwegian Cruise Line's Latitudes Rewards define each level by a fixed total of credits and publish no expiry date for points or Star level. [6] [2]
- Where a level is a running total, earlier sailings keep counting: Holland America Line awards Cruise Day credits for all previous sailings with the line. [6]
Why a cruise loyalty tier is worth keeping
On a cruise ship, the membership level is not just a label on a profile. It decides what appears on the key card, which queues a guest may use and which discounts apply on board, so a level that quietly lapses changes the experience of the next sailing rather than an abstract balance. [2] [6]
At Norwegian Cruise Line, Latitudes Rewards members receive keycard recognition, signature tier pins, access to an onboard Latitudes Rewards representative and a long list of tier discounts, from duty-free shops to shore excursions and Wi-Fi packages. [2] Latitudes Rewards states that tier benefits are available on sailings of five nights or longer, while onboard discounts, including pre-booked shore excursions, apply on all sailings regardless of length. [2]
Holland America Line prints the Star level on the key card and onboard charge card, and Two-Star to Five-Star Mariners also receive lapel pins. [6] Benefits earned mid-cruise do not usually apply immediately: Royal Caribbean says that if a member reaches a new loyalty tier while on board, the new benefits start on the next sailing. [4] Holland America Line applies elevated benefits on the next cruise for all voyages except Grand Voyages, where crossing a star threshold upgrades the member for the remainder of that voyage. [6]
What do cruise lines publish about points expiry?
The published positions differ in wording and in how far they go. Two of the programmes described below say outright that points do not expire; the others list tiers, earning rates and credit rules without stating an expiry date, which is a gap rather than a promise of permanence.
| Programme | How credit is earned | Expiry position as published |
|---|---|---|
| Crown & Anchor Society (Royal Caribbean International) | One Cruise Point per night sailed, with a second point per night for suite bookings in listed categories and for solo travellers paying a single supplement [4] | Joining is free and "points never expire" [4] |
| Captain's Club (Celebrity Cruises) | Club Points per night, scaled by stateroom from inside and ocean view upward, plus Power Up Points earned from home at 10 Power Up Points to 1 Club Point [5] | Once earned Club Points are in the account, "they don't expire" [5] |
| Mariner Society (Holland America Line) | One Cruise Day credit per day sailed, a suite bonus that doubles days on a published fare, and one bonus credit per $300 of eligible onboard spending [6] | Not published [6] |
| Latitudes Rewards (Norwegian Cruise Line) | One point per cruise night, an extra point per night in a suite or The Haven, and an extra point per night on a Latitudes Rewards Insider Offer [2] | Not published [2] |
Norwegian Cruise Line enrols guests in Latitudes Rewards automatically after their first cruise, and the programme says it can credit missing points only for cruises taken within the last 12 months. [2] That twelve-month window is a limit on claiming past sailings, not a stated deadline for keeping a tier. [2]
How are cruise loyalty tiers set?
In all four programmes the ladder is built from a running total of credits, which is why the question of expiry turns on whether the programme ever resets or removes that total rather than on an annual target.
| Programme | Levels |
|---|---|
| Crown & Anchor Society | Levels sit at 3, 30, 55, 80, 175 and 700 Cruise Points, rising to the Pinnacle Club at the top [4] |
| Captain's Club | Classic runs from 2 to 149 Club Points, Select 150–299, Elite 300–749, Elite Plus 750–2,999 and Zenith 3,000 and above [5] |
| Mariner Society | One-Star after one completed cruise, Two-Star at 30 Cruise Day credits, Three-Star at 75, Four-Star at 200 and Five-Star at 500 [6] |
| Latitudes Rewards | Bronze at 1 point, then Silver 20, Gold 45, Platinum 75, Sapphire 150, Diamond 350 and Ambassador 700 [2] |
The thresholds are stated as totals, and Holland America Line reinforces the cumulative reading by confirming that guests receive Cruise Day credits for all previous Holland America Line cruises and Cruisetours. [6] Bonus credits for suite purchases and onboard spending, however, apply only to sailings departing on or after 18 September 2009, and only the first two guests on a booking earn the onboard spending bonus. [6]
Posting is not instant. Royal Caribbean adds Cruise Points to the account within 30 days after the cruise, and Celebrity Cruises posts Club Points after the sailing. [4] [5] Holland America Line updates Cruise Day status seven to ten days after a cruise or Cruisetour ends. [6]
Are there activity requirements to keep a cruise loyalty tier?
No sailing-frequency requirement for retaining a tier is published for these four programmes; what the terms regulate instead is how quickly credits must be claimed, moved or posted. [2] [4] [6]
Royal Caribbean Group's Points Choice adds a dated set of activity rules for members who want their sailing to count somewhere else. Members of Crown & Anchor Society aged 18 and over may move points earned on a sailing to Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club or Silversea Cruises' Venetian Society, and a request may be submitted any time before the sailing up to 14 days after disembarkation, for sailings departing on or after 30 January 2026. [4] Exchange rates for that transfer are published annually. [4] [5]
Status itself can be shared within the Royal Caribbean Group: members receive one-for-one tier matching across Crown & Anchor Society, Captain's Club and Venetian Society, and Royal Caribbean asks members to allow up to seven days for the matched status to take effect. [4] [5]
Exceptions and limits
- Membership can end for other reasons. Holland America Line reserves the right to modify or terminate the Mariner Society programme, or change its terms, at any time with or without notice, and may terminate membership at its sole discretion for anyone appearing to use the programme in a way inconsistent with its terms, conditions or intent. [6]
- Credits cannot be moved between people. Mariner Society Cruise Day credits are non-transferable. [6] What a booking shares is the benefit, not the status: guests sharing a stateroom on the same booking receive the benefits earned by the highest Star level in that stateroom. [6]
- Brand-wide status is honoured on board. Norwegian Cruise Line states that Latitudes Rewards status is honoured while sailing with Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises, the other brands in the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings family. [2]
- Enrolment can be automatic. Norwegian Cruise Line enrols guests after their first cruise, and Holland America Line enrols all past guests automatically with no registration required; guests who have sailed with Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn or Costa Cruises are enrolled as a One-Star Mariner after their first Holland America Line booking. [2] [6]
- Some sailings earn nothing. Holland America Line excludes prizes, charity and familiarisation sailings and working personnel from cruise days, onboard spending bonus and suite bonus days. [6] Norwegian Cruise Line limits missing-points claims to cruises taken in the previous 12 months. [2]
- Silence is not a guarantee. Where a line publishes tiers without an expiry rule, the page reads as "not published" rather than as a promise that points or status are permanent. [2] [6]
Frequently asked questions
Do cruise loyalty points expire?
It depends on the programme. Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society says points never expire, and Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club says that once earned Club Points are in the account they do not expire. [4] [5] Holland America Line's Mariner Society and Norwegian Cruise Line's Latitudes Rewards publish no expiry date for their points or credits. [6] [2]
Does cruise loyalty status lapse if I stop cruising?
For these four programmes the tier is expressed as a cumulative total of points, cruise nights or Cruise Day credits, and no date on which the tier lapses is published. [4] [5] [6] [2] Holland America Line, for example, credits all previous sailings with the line toward Star level. [6]
Is cruise loyalty status shared between sister brands?
Royal Caribbean Group matches tiers one-for-one across Crown & Anchor Society, Captain's Club and Silversea's Venetian Society, and asks members to allow up to seven days for the match to take effect. [4] [5] Norwegian Cruise Line honours Latitudes Rewards status on board Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises sailings. [2]
Does onboard spending count toward a cruise loyalty tier?
On Holland America Line it does: from cruises on or after 18 September 2009, one bonus Cruise Day credit is granted for each $300 in eligible onboard purchases, calculated on the combined folio for the booking, with only the first two guests on the booking receiving the bonus. [6] Norwegian Cruise Line's published earning rules list cruise nights, suite or The Haven bookings and Insider Offer bookings, not onboard spending. [2]
Sources
Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Programmes not covered here include Carnival's VIFP Club, MSC Voyagers Club, Princess Captain's Circle, Cunard World Club and Disney Castaway Club, none of which is described above.
- Norwegian Cruise Line — Latitudes Rewards, checked 18 October 2026
- Royal Caribbean — Crown & Anchor Society, checked 18 October 2026
- Celebrity Cruises — Captain's Club, checked 18 October 2026
- Holland America Line — Mariner Society, checked 18 October 2026